Despite the rising number of small fires around the country due to the annual Equinox heatwave, the Department of Environment (DoE) is confident they won’t bring about haze similar to what shrouded the Klang Valley last year.
Mashitah Darus, the department’s director of its Air Division, told Bernama‘s Lum Ka Kay, “Although open burning has increased due to the dry spell, these fires are small in nature and manageable. Such small fires will not cause haze.”
She attributed the cause of the fires to lit cigarette butts discarded into landfill areas and on river banks.
Mashitah also urgd members of the public to work towards the prevention of forest fires.
“(Fire prevention) cannot be done by the Fire and Rescue Department and DOE alone. The public has to understand their responsibility as well and stop any open burning activities at a big scale,” she said.
According to Selangor Fire and Rescue Department assistant director of operations Mohd Sani Harul, open fires would make up five to 10 cases on his docket per day, but since the beginning of February, those cases have shot up to 20 to 30 cases daily.
Dengkil, Sabak Bernam, Bestari Jaya and Sekinchan are among areas that have been identified to contain open burning activities instigated for agricultural purposes.
More on CoconutsKL:
Here comes the sun: Equinox heatwave set to cook Malaysia til April
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